Arlington National Cemetery will soon bring back caisson horses for some military funerals after implementing a nearly two-year pause to improve the herd’s health, the Army announced Tuesday.
Horses have for decades performed the solemn duty of pulling the caisson holding the casket of fallen service members, but the Army put a hold on that element of the funerals in May 2023 after an investigation into the death of two horses exposed unsatisfactory living conditions for the herd.
After making major changes to the horses’ working and living conditions, the Army plans to reintroduce limited use of caisson horses during military funerals starting the week of June 2.
Initially, the funerals eligible for caisson escorts will include service members killed in action, recipients of the Medal of Honor or the Prisoner of War Medal, as well as senior noncommissioned officers, senior warrant officers and senior commissioned officers.
File: A burial at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, with a coffin carried on horse-drawn caisson. March 26, 2018. Visions of America/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
Acting superintendent of Arlington National Cemetery Renea Yates said in a statement that while the limited integration may be
Horse-drawn caissons to return to Arlington Memorial Cemetery after 2-year pause
